RJM’s Ron Menelli: The MIDI Wizard Behind the Pros’ Pedalboards

RJM’s Ron Menelli: The MIDI Wizard Behind the Pros’ Pedalboards Description Ron Menelli from RJM Music joins Blake Wyland to tell the long, nerdy, wildly practical story behind one of the most essential “behind the curtain” brands in modern guitar rigs. Ron walks through his early days building circuits from Radio Shack notebooks, studying electrical engineering and computer science, and eventually bailing on the corporate telecom world to build something of his own. That leap leads to RJM’s first big breakthrough: the AmpGizmo, a solution that brought MIDI control to the era of giant channel-switching amps with giant multi-button footswitches. From there, Ron explains how RJM evolved from amp control into full rig command centers, including the RG16 and the Mastermind ecosystem, and why products like the PBC-6X became the best-selling “brain” for players who want one button to handle loops, pedal order, and MIDI commands in a single move. You also get a real talk segment on the business side: what it’s like building gear for a small, pro-focused niche (where your customers are the artists everyone else watches), why Ron intentionally keeps RJM small, and what he’d tell anyone trying to start a pedal or guitar company today. Plus: a deep dive into MIDI 2.0, why it’s taking forever, and why the promise of “plug and play” control could finally make MIDI less terrifying for normal humans. Then we wrap with the essentials: favorite Boss pedals (OD-1 love), a Rush-inspired tap-dance origin story… and Chicago thin-crust pizza supremacy. Check out all the stuff at rjmmusic.com Support The Show And Connect! The Text Chat is back! Hit me up at (503) 751-8577 You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices